Sirica's involvement in the case began when he presided over the
trial of the Watergate burglars. He did not believe the claim that
they had acted alone, and persuaded or coerced them to implicate
the men who had arranged the break-in. For his role in Watergate
the judge was named TIME magazine's Man of the Year in 1973.

Sirica was in private practice of law in Washington, DC from 1926 to 1930. He was an
Assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1930 to
1934, and subsequently returned to private practice from 1934 to
1957. He also served as general counsel to the House Select
Committee to Investigate the Federal Communications
Commission in 1944.

Sirica had a largely undistinguished career before Watergate.
Author Joseph Goulden wrote a book about federal judges called
The Benchwarmers and mentioned that many lawyers appearing
in Sirica's courtroom thought little of him or his abilities as a
judge. Many complained about his short temper and careless legal
errors. He was nicknamed "Maximum John" for giving defendants the
maximum sentence guidelines allowed. Boxing champion Jack Dempsey was a
close friend of his and was Sirica's best man at his marriage in
1952.

Sirica served as chief judge of the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia from 1971 to 1974, and assumed senior status on
October 31, 1977. He died in 1992, aged 88.

Sirica published his account of the Watergate affair in 1979
under the title To Set the Record Straight.